Failure To Change = Death
Comic Reviews for the week ending 2/16/2025
Good morning, my friend,
I have a warning for you and all my colleagues who work in the Comics Industry.
If something doesn’t work, stop doing it.
This problem is no more evident than the reaction to current and upcoming storylines from Marvel.
In the current issue of Sam Wilson: Captain America #2, the titular character can be seen knocking back Red Hulk with his mighty shield.
This move is, of course, patently ridiculous because Sam Wilson has no enhanced strength to speak of and his shield doesn’t give him impact abilities. Therefore we have yet another example of Marvel, trying to elevate a historically unpopular character and doing it at the expense of another.
We’ve seen Marvel make these attempts to synergize by changing the comics to match the films, but there has yet to be a strange example where the comics were improved or sales increased by these changes.
Next, Marvel has announced the return/resurrection of Gwen Stacy. For those not in the know, Gwen was killed in 1973, and the impact of her death echoed throughout Spider-Man stories for years afterward. Death wasn’t as common then as it is now, so Gwen Stacy’s demise carried a great deal of weight and meaning.
Of course, Marvel, lacking in ideas, has chosen to potentially resurrect her. Why? The details are sketchy but it’s likely for the shock and drama of it all, but to do so would, again, diminish the impact her death created. Marvel and DC have resurrected characters before, always to the detriment of the storyline where the death occurred. Resurrections have yet to pan out. Yet, the Big 2 keep doing it.
What’s the lesson here? Stop doing things that don’t work.
Stop revisiting storylines if you don’t have a better idea.
Stop repeating gimmicks that result in diminishing returns, like frequent #1 reboots.
Stop hiring writers and EDITORS with a track record of poor creative decisions and dropping sales.
Repeating the same practices that don’t work is the path to failure.
Figure out what works, focus on that, and thrive.
-Gabe
Next, our Pick of the Week for the most entertaining comic is…
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Now, let’s get on to this week’s reviews (and a little catch-up)
JUPITER’S LEGACY: FINALE #4 – Review
[Pick of the Week] TRANSFORMERS #17 – Review
GRIMM TALES OF TERROR (VOL. 5) #2 – Review
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #67 - Review
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1 - Review
Did you see a comic review for a title you didn’t know existed?
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Space Ghost #10 (Dynamite Comics)
The Herculoids #1 (Dynamite Comics)
Conan the Barbarian #18 (Titan Comics)
G.I. Joe #4 (Image Comics)
King Spawn #42 (Image Comics)
Prairie Gods #5 (Mad Cave Studios)
Revolution 9 #4 (Mad Cave Studios)
Hour of the Wolf #4 (Mad Cave Studios)
Marvel Viewers’ Choice (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to vote)
DC Viewers’ Choice (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to vote)
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